Census Bureau to send out emails to spark response rates

The Census Bureau is making one last effort to contact people who have not yet responded to the once-a-decade survey by sending out emails.

Households in low-responding census tracts will receive an email from 2020census@subscriptions.census.gov encouraging people to fill out the form online, as well as informing them why the census is important. Emails will be sent to tracts that have a response rate lower than 50%.

According to a census response map, Allegheny County does not have any blocks with a response rate lower than 50%, although there is a large part of the county that does not have rates listed. In Westmoreland County, Donegal Township is the only area with a response rate — 46.4% — that reaches the quota.

Township Supervisor Dan Pribisco said the low response rate concerns him because “it helps us with funding.” While the township has not promoted the census, he said, officials do plan to post about it on their website in the coming months.

“It’s important that people do send (the census) back in,” Pribisco said.

Other communities surrounding Donegal also have low rates including Jefferson, 33.2%, and Middlecreek, 21%, both in Somerset County.

The bureau, which sent out an additional reminder postcard earlier this month, decided to send emails as well following success with contacting households via email to participate in the Household Pulse Survey. Neither method has been used in the past, but they were implemented after census activities were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Census officials are hopeful the methods will reduce the need for in-person follow-ups, which began in parts of the country this month including in State College. Census spokeswoman Susan Licate said census workers are also conducting follow-ups in the region.

But even as census workers begin knocking on doors, response rates might remain low with four out of 10 people saying they would not answer the door, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Of survey results, which included more than 4,700 U.S. adults, 40% of people who have not answered the census say they would not talk to a worker and 59% say they’d be somewhat willing.

The bureau also is considering the use of text messages to aid in response rates. An announcement will be made prior to messages being sent.

Those responding to the census have until Oct. 31 to fill out the form.